1. The Leisure Services Environment
C H A P T E R 1
The Leisure Services Environment
Chapter 1

2. The Difference Between Leisure and Recreation
Time not working
Free time
Recreation
Time playing
Pastime

3. Traditional View of Leisure Services
Sports
Games
Classes
Special events
Activities

4. History of Leisure Services
London parks
Paris parks
New York’s Central Park
American national parks
State parks
Park districts

5. American Urban Park Movement
The Central Park Commission was created as a separate governmental unit to avoid the politics of Tammany Hall.
Frederick Law Olmsted
First superintendent of the Central Park Commission
Established landscape architecture as a profession
Went on to design Yosemite and other national parks
Came to Chicago and helped establish park districts

6. Urban Recreation Movement
Started with YMCA camps and centers
Followed by other providers such as Hull House and the Boys Clubs
Remained largely separate from the urban park movement until the 1960s

7. Commercial Recreation Movement
Has always existed as the travel, tourism, hospitality, and hotel industry
Came to fruition in the 1920s
Has come to make up more than 90 percent of all recreation provided in America

8. Commercial Leisure Services Sector
More than 2 million business providers
6.5 million jobs
$88 billion in revenues
8.33 percent of the gross domestic product in America
(continued)

9. Commercial Leisure Services Sector (continued)
Includes:
Hospitality
Resorts and gaming
Camping and outdoor recreation
Travel, tourism, and the cruise industry
Movies and entertainment
Professional and amateur sports

10. Nonprofit Leisure Services
Nobody knows for sure how many of the 960,000 nonprofit organizations provide leisure services.
Estimated to be tens of thousands:
Youth sport programs
YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs
Country clubs and member organizations
Service clubs

11. Tax-Exempt Status of Nonprofits
501(c)(3) organizations: Exist for charitable purposes, such as YMCAs
Non-501(c)(3) organizations: Exist to serve the members, such as country clubs and sport teams

12. Federal and State Government Leisure Services Organizations
Federal agencies:
National recreation areas
National parks
National forests
Waterways
Wildlife refuges
(continued)

13. Federal and State Government Leisure Services Organizations (continued)
The 50 state agencies:
State park systems
Wildlife refuges
State recreation areas
Waterways
Designated hunting areas

14. County Leisure Services Organizations
County park departments
County forest preserve districts
Regional, multicounty park and recreation districts
Wildlife refuges

15. Local Leisure Services Organizations
87,000 local governments:
Municipal park and recreation departments
Municipal recreation departments
Municipal park departments
Special districts
School district recreation departments

16. Managing Leisure Services Organizations in the Three Sectors
Similarities
Services are sometimes exactly the same.
Service skill sets can be similar.
Differences
Services are sometimes different.
Management skill requirements are often different.

17. Managing Commercial Leisure Services Organizations
Profit motive: Increases the focus on the customer
Less transparency: Proprietary financial information
Marketing approach: Product, price, position, and promotion

18. Managing Nonprofit Leisure Services Organizations
Fundraising is a requirement.
Revenue streams and engines must be developed.
Managing membership is often important.
Providing services to those who can’t pay can be required.
More transparency than business must occur.

19. Managing Government Leisure Services Organizations
There is a political dimension to managing.
Transparency is almost total.
Employees have more rights.
Pension protection can be important.

20. Summary The sectors are different in size.
2 million private-sector leisure services providers
Tens of thousands of nonprofit leisure services providers
87,000 government leisure services providers
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21. Summary (continued) Different management skill sets are required.
The ability to make a profit in the private sector
The ability to raise funds in the nonprofit sector
The ability to navigate the political process in the public sector